Some 10 members of the Puerto Rico Pro-Statehood Veterans Commission, a group of Puerto Rican veterans, are visiting congressional offices this week to deliver a simple message: They defended democracy for the United States abroad and now they want it at home. Because the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a territory and not a State,… Read more »
Posts Categorized: War Heroes
Admiral Horacio Rivero: Puerto Rico’s First Navy Admiral
Horacio Rivero was born in 1910 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, just six years before the people of Puerto Rico accepted U.S. citizenship. He graduated third in his class from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and served in a number of positions, including that of Gunner on the U.S.S San Juan, which was named… Read more »
Early Puerto Rican Military Leadership: Teófilo Marxuach and WWI
The first military unit in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico was established on March 2, 1899, less than a year after the July 25, 1898, incursion of U.S. forces into Puerto Rico as Spain ceded the island to the United States under the Treaty of Paris. That first military unit was the Puerto Rico Regiment… Read more »
Carmen Garcia Rosado: Soldier and Activist
Carmen Garcia Rosado was one of the first women to join the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in World War II. She was a member of the Puerto Rican WAC unit, Company 6, 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. Rosado, an educator, wrote LAS WACS-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Segunda… Read more »
Language, Culture and Military Training
Members of the Illinois National Guard Special Forces Unit and the Puerto Rico National Guard trained together at Camp Santiago in Salinas, Puerto Rico earlier this month. The training focused on military operations in urban settings, marksmanship, and close quarters combat, but both sides reported that they also benefited in another way. The trainings were… Read more »
A Page from History: Lt. Augusto Rodriguez, Puerto Rico’s Civil War Soldier
Puerto Rico has provided military men and women for the United States since 20,000 newly created U.S. citizens were drafted from Puerto Rico in 1917 to fight in WWI. It is not as well known that there were Puerto Rican soldiers in the American Civil War. In the 1800s, many Puerto Ricans lived in Connecticut,… Read more »
A Personal Story for Puerto Rican Veterans
One of the striking things about Puerto Rico is the high level of military service in the U.S. territory. Particularly when in light of the fact that residents of Puerto Rico cannot take part in presidential elections, it is noteworthy that so many Puerto Ricans have volunteered to serve in their Commander in Chief. One Puerto… Read more »
Medal of Honor Awards to Puerto Rican Soldiers
Next month, President Barack Obama will award 24 U.S.. Army veterans the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry during major combat operations in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In each case, the soldiers have previously received the Distinguished Service Cross, which is the nation’s second highest military award. The Medal… Read more »
Pierluisi Honors Puerto Rico’s Military
Rep. Pedro Pierluisi honored the military men and women of Puerto Rico in a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Pierluisi reminded his fellow representatives that Puerto Ricans have served in the military in disproportionate numbers in every conflict since World War I. Speaking of the portraits of fallen soldiers… Read more »
Honor the Borinqueneers
On Veterans Day, we think more than ever of the Borinqueneers, members of an all-volunteer regiment of Puerto Rican soldiers who served with distinction in the U.S. Armed Services since World War I and are known for their extraordinary service and valor during the Korean War. Many groups are now working to gain recognition for the Borinqueneers… Read more »
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